Brewers Open Retractable Roof for NLDS Game 2 After Ball-Off-Roof Call Ended Game 1

Since Jacob Misiorowski's postseason debut Saturday night turned into a 3-2 Brewers win over the Padres, the lingering story out of NLDS Game 1 hasn't been the pitching. It's the roof.

With San Diego trailing 3-2 in the top of the ninth and a man on first, Padres first baseman Ty France launched a 105 mph fly ball off reliever DL Hall that hit 49 degrees off the bat, according to Newsweek. The ball hit the roof truss in fair territory at American Family Field and dropped into left fielder Jackson Chourio's glove for the second out. Jackson Merrill lined out on the next pitch, and the game was over.

Newsweek reported that no ball with that exit velocity and launch angle combination produced a home run anywhere in MLB during the 2026 season. France doesn't buy it. "I thought I backspun it and thought it was going to stay fair," France said after the game. "Knew it was going out."

The Padres challenged the call, arguing the ball hit the roof in foul territory, which would have made it a dead ball. The replay review upheld the out. Milwaukee's own ground rules state that a ball striking the roof, roof truss, or roof cable in fair territory stays live and can be caught, according to CBS Sports and Front Office Sports.

Padres manager Craig Stammen told reporters his team had actually joked about this exact scenario during the pregame umpires' meeting, Sports Illustrated reported. "We joked about it at the umpire meeting today about what would happen if the ball hit the roof," Stammen said. "It's unlikely, but it happened." Brewers closer Trevor Megill, who had been on the mound in relief duty that night, said on the FOX broadcast that the home plate umpire had walked both teams through the rule before the game. Third-base coach Matt Erickson told reporters the umpire's warning was almost prophetic: "I haven't seen this in six years, but it's definitely happening tonight."

Why the roof was closed in the first place

MLB's commissioner's office, not the Brewers, controls roof decisions in the postseason, in consultation with the home team and umpire crew, according to CBS Sports. Saturday night's forecast called for light showers and temperatures in the low 60s, so the roof stayed shut under the league's standard postseason weather protocol. Both teams had agreed to that closure before first pitch.

Sunday's forecast was a different story. CBS Local reported a sunny day in Milwaukee with temperatures in the upper 60s and a light breeze for Game 2. The American Family Field roof hotline, a real public phone line that gives a recorded weather and roof update, confirmed the roof would be open for Sunday's game, as first relayed by Front Office Sports and Larry Brown Sports.

CBS Sports was explicit that the forecast, not the fallout from Game 1, drove the decision to open the roof. Critics of the Game 1 ruling could argue the open roof for Game 2 looks like Milwaukee quietly correcting course after a fluke play decided a playoff game. But the sourcing doesn't back that up. Roof status in the postseason is an MLB call tied to weather protocol, and Sunday's clear skies were the stated reason, not the controversy. There is no indication any rule was reviewed or changed between games.

Larry Brown Sports also noted that Commissioner Rob Manfred was spotted at American Family Field ahead of Game 2, though no source has confirmed why he was there or tied his presence to the France play.

What's next

Milwaukee took a 1-0 series lead with Saturday's win. Game 2 pits Brewers righty Logan Henderson against Padres righty Michael King, who threw seven one-hit innings against the Cubs in the Wild Card round, according to Newsweek. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT Sunday. A Padres win would even the best-of-five series and send it back to Petco Park, where Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports both note San Diego will look to use a hostile home crowd against the team with the best record in baseball this season.

No further review or rule change to the roof ground rules has been announced by MLB. The France play stands as the second out of the ninth inning in a 3-2 Brewers win, and it will stay that way regardless of how the series turns out.